Thursday, February 28, 2013

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

A couple of days ago, I was combing through a book of celebrity photos and autographed pictures that my wife and I have been tasked with selling. These belonged to a now-deceased friend. Remarking that there were certainly a lot of photos of actor Dale Roberston, I looked him up and was surprised to find out he was still alive. A day later, yesterday, I was equally surprised to find out he had died. In tribute, here are our friend's photos, a couple signed, many unseen outside of Dale's official fan club in the early sixties.

If anyone has any interest, as I said, we are selling these photos and a whole album of similar items of late fifties/early sixties stars for our friend Delores's estate. Contact me at booksteve@aol.com if interested.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

I just today learned of the passing of actor Paul L. Smith, so perfectly cast as Bluto in Altman's 1980 POPEYE. Although born in America, he found his initial success in movies--after years of small roles--in Italy, where he was often employed due to his resemblance to Italian star Bud Spencer. In fact, he and an Italian actor made several ersatz Terence Hill/Bud Spencer flicks that really weren't all that bad. On a larger scale, though, were memorable roles in major productions such as DUNE and MIDNIGHT EXPRESS. According to online reports, he had retired to Israel in 2006 and changed his name, as unlikely as it may sound, to Adam Eden.

Monday, February 25, 2013

# 5-William Conrad: Perhaps best remembered as "the fat
detective" from the era when all TV detectives had to be pigeonholed in
some way, Louisville, Kentucky native William Conrad was a writer, actor,
producer and director and perhaps second only to Orson Welles in the diverse
collection of characters he created over the radio airwaves. Conrad's best
known role on radio was that of Marshal Matt Dillon on GUNSMOKE for nine years,
a role for which he was deemed unfit on TV, being short and overweight.

Conrad's mellifluous voice can also be heard intoning the
narration for a number of movies, TV series and documentaries through the
years, most notably--if perhaps unbelievably--the adventures of ROCKY &
BULLWINKLE! After his TV success as CANNON, he went on to star in JAKE &
THE FAT MAN and NERO WOLFE, both of which cast him to type. Known privately for
his naughty sense of humor, there are some pretty funny TV blooper reels out
there with him as well. He died in 1994.

# 4-Victor Mature: Another Louisville native, Victor Mature
was known throughout his Hollywood career for his hunkiness, beginning right
from his first starring role as a caveman in ONE MILLION YEARS BC in 1940. After
that he starred in a long line of diverse films from westerns like MY DARLING
CLEMENTINE to a lot of musicals. He is probably best remembered for his
Biblical and similarly-styled epics, most of which required him to be shirtless
a good deal of the time. It was SAMSON AND DELILAH that reportedly inspired
Groucho Marx's famous statement that he didn't like a picture where the leading
man's chest was bigger than the leading lady's.

He was not above kidding his own image in such later films
as 1966's AFTER THE FOX and the Monkees cult film HEAD in '68 but the actor
made only a handful of film appearances after those. He passed at the age of 86
in 1999.

# 3-Rosemary Clooney: Rosemary Clooney, the pride of
Maysville, Kentucky, had a film career of some note but it was eclipsed by both
the drama of her personal life and her success as a jazz, big band and pop
singer. Originally a double act on radio with her sister Betty in the
mid-forties, her solo career moved her swiftly to the top of the pop charts
where she was then whisked away to Hollywood. Though her acting career in films
and TV wasn't extensive, it did include one of the most beloved movies of all
time, the holiday classic, WHITE CHRISTMAS, with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye and
Vera-Ellen (also a local native from just across the river in Ohio).

After two much publicized marriages to actor Jose Ferrer,
her personal problems got the best of her and Rosemary's career was sidetracked
for several years by a nervous breakdown. Eventually, she returned, at the top
of her game, and continued touring, recording and acting for the rest of her
days, which ended in 2002.

# 2-George Clooney: Talent running in the family, Lexington,
Kentucky's George Clooney, Rosemary's nephew, is just about the hottest thing
in Hollywood these days. From his humble beginnings working in the shoe
department at a local Northern Kentucky department store (a job he beat me out
of) he entered show biz by driving his Aunt's tour bus. After some small
success on TV, he hit it big with ER and parlayed that into small films and
then bigger films and then ultimately blockbusters, eventually becoming the
producer/director/actor he is today, having just shared the Oscar for Best
Picture this past evening for ARGO.

Along the way, George Clooney has demonstrated himself to be
an extremely class act as well, the handsome modern equivalent of Cary Grant, but
determined to use his position and fame to make a positive difference in the
world away from the Silver Screen.

# 1-Who could be bigger than George Clooney? Why, Johnny
Depp, of course. Born in Owensboro, Kentucky, Depp began acting in small roles
in the early eighties before becoming the proverbial overnight success on the
TV series 21 JUMP STREET. Known for a long line of well-crafted film personas,
Depp has been Edward Scissorhands, Ed Wood, Willy Wonka, Hunter S. Thompson, Sweeney
Todd, Captain Jack Sparrow, Ichabod Crane, Barnabas Collins and, coming soon,
Tonto.

Long associated with Producer/director Tim Burton, Depp has
demonstrated his chameleon-like tendencies on outlandish characters so often
that ordinary acting roles seem somehow beneath him now. No doubt, his movie
appearances will continue to thrill and surprise audiences from Kentucky and
around the world for many, many years yet to come.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Kentucky is known for its bluegrass, its bourbon, its
tobacco, its horses...it is not known for its actors, however, although the commonwealth
has, in fact, turned out many both great and successful.

Here we have a list of--in my opinion--the ten most
successful actors to have come out of Kentucky. In reverse order.

# 10-Harry Dean Stanton: Born in West Irvine, Kentucky,
Harry Dean Stanton may never have become a big star but he has long been the
ultimate character actor! A WWII veteran, he started in movies and television
in the fifties, appearing memorably in small roles over the years before
finally getting bigger parts in the seventies. In 1979, Harry was part of the
emsemble crew of the original ALIEN and. in 1984, he took the lead in PARIS,
TEXAS, an acclaimed and inspirational picture directed by Wim Wenders.

This past year, 2012, Harry Dean Stanton not only had a
notable cameo in THE AVENGERS but also became the subject of an artsy
documentary entitled HARRY DEAN STANTON: PARTLY FICTION. Now 86, his credits
continue to pile up.

# 9-Una Merkel: Born in my own hometown of Covington,
Kentucky, Ms. Merkel is best remembered today for her catfight with Marlene
Dietrich in the 1939 classic western, DESTRY RIDES AGAIN starring Jimmy
Stewart. She had been working in films since the silent days, however, and
would continue to do so up into the mid-sixties, transforming her image from
that of a flirty young blonde to that of a middle aged matron. Appropriately
Ms. Merkel had a major role in 1955's THE KENTUCKIAN. Among her later pictures
were Disney's THE PARENT TRAP and Elvis Presley's SPINOUT. In her career, she
was nominated for an Academy Award once and won Broadway's Tony Award for her
stage work.

There is a historical marker for Una Merkel at Covington's
Goebel Park and she was buried near here upon her death in 1986.

# 8-Tom Ewell: From Owensboro, Kentucky, Tom Ewell apparently
disappointed his family by going on the stage at age 19 but in just a few short
years, he was appearing on Broadway. Best known for his dramatic and comedic
supporting roles in plays and, increasingly, motion pictures, he took the lead
in Broadway's THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH. He took the Tony for his acting and
re-created his role on film, that version co-starring Marilyn Monroe in what
would become one of her most iconic roles. He similarly appeared opposite Jayne
Mansfield in the now classic early rock & roll flick, THE GIRL CAN'T HELP
IT. After that, he spent much time on stage or on televisoon, memorably
costarring with Robert Blake on BARETTA in the seventies.

Upon his death in 1994 at the age of 85, Tom Ewell was
surprisingly survived by his mother who went on to live another four years
before passing at age 109!

# 7-Warren Oates: From the small Kentucky town of Depoy,
Warren Oates, one of Hollywood's legendary "bad boys," began acting
in plays at The University of Louisville in the fifties. By the end of that
decade, he was in Hollywood doing character roles in TV dramas and small parts
in films. Bigger and bigger roles kept coming and in 1969, he co-starred in Sam
Peckinpah's controversially violent THE WILD BUNCH. Throughout the seventies,
he played a number of memorable roles including a brilliant turn in BRING ME
THE HEAD OF ALFREDO GARCIA. Not long after his memorable performance in an
atypical role in Bill Murray's 1981 STRIPES, Warren Oates died of natural
causes brought on, no doubt, by hard living.

After his death, several more films were released
posthumously and, in 1993, a documentary about the actor was made. The acclaimed biography, WARREN OATES:
A WILD LIFE, came out in 2009.

# 6-Ned Beatty-Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Ned Beatty is
yet another of the truly great character actors. Believe it or not, his classic,
oft-parodied performance in 1972's DELIVERANCE marked his film debut! In short
order, though, he was in just about everything throughout the seventies
including a number of Burt Reynolds pictures and SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE. He even
briefly had his own TV series, done in by its unpronounceable title: SZYSZNYK
(Siz-Nik, as I recall).

Beatty has worked steadily ever since, in roles both big and
small, and is always a familiar and welcome presence in films or on television.
Most recently, he's even been doing voice work in animated features such as
RANGO and TOY STORY 3.

Saturday, February 23, 2013

About Me

First published in 1968 (I was 9!), I have been writing professionally part-time for more than two decades. I have been freelancing for various authors, editors and publishers for the past three years on the behind-the-scenes tasks of writing.